Federal inmate cut could cost Kane County $1.4 million

GENEVA, Ill. (AP) - Kane County could lose out on $1.4 million after the sheriff cut the number of federal inmates who can be housed in the county jail.

Sheriff Donald Kramer, who started in December, called the program a "big safety issue" for staff at a county committee hearing Thursday.

U.S. Marshals moved 43 federal detainees from the jail last week. Assistant Chief Deputy Marshal Tim McFarden says the inmates went to other area facilities, including other county jails and the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago. Marshals maintain custody of inmates until they're sentenced.

Kane County gets $88 a day per federal inmate, who each cost an average of $66 a day. Tim McFarden with U.S.

Kramer says he won't consider adding federal inmates back unless staffing increases. Joe Onzick, the county's finance director, says it will need to cut spending "as soon as possible" if the lost revenue isn't replaced.